1. Field
Some example embodiments of the present inventive concepts relate to semiconductor devices and/or methods for fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
To keep up with the trend of higher speeds and lower consumption, memory devices in electronic appliances need a relatively high read/write speed and relatively low voltage. Magnetic memory devices have been developed to satisfy that need. The magnetic memory devices are spotlighted as next generation memory devices because they have relatively high speed and/or nonvolatile characteristics.
Magnetic memory devices generally include a magnetic tunnel junction pattern. The magnetic tunnel junction pattern includes an insulating layer interposed between two magnetic layers and its resistance changes according to the orientation of the magnetization in the two magnetic layers. For example, the magnetic tunnel junction pattern has a greater resistance when the magnetization directions of the two magnetic layers are anti-parallel, and has a lower resistance when the magnetization directions of the two magnetic layers are parallel. This difference of resistance can be used to read and write data.